PR 2807 
.H6 
Copy 1 



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HAMLET 



A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF ITS 
PERFORMANCE WITNESSED 

BY 

Jack Howison 

AGED 12 



PHILADELPHIA 
1894 






\LuLyU 



PREFACE 

These pages were written by a little boy twelve years of 
age after attending a performance of Hamlet. His account 
is printed precisely as it fell from his pen, without the slightest 
change in orthography, punctuation, or arrangement. In other 
words, the impressions created by the representation of the 
divine tragedy upon his boyish mind are here translated into 
his own diction, the spring of his emotion bubbling to the 
surface in an unaffected and unsought course of nature. 

Master Howison had never read or seen the play of 
Hamlet until the eventful evening he mentions. For some 
days after the performance he amused and interested those of 
us in his family by reciting various passages, and illustrating 
the manner of the actors he had seen. His mind seemed to be 
filled with the spirit of the play and his ear had caught the 
deathless music of Shakspere's verse. It occurred to his 
friends that an account of the play as he had seen it, written 
by himself might be interesting; hence these pages. 

He recognizes completely the crudity of his performance, 
but has been persuaded to allow his words to be printed in 
order that his name may be connected, however unworthily, 
with that of the immortal master. 

There is reason to believe that the interest in the study 
thus begun will continue. He has already provided himself 
with Shakspere's works and is giving all the attention he may 
spare from his school duties to that delightful avocation. 

The photographic portrait which appears as a frontispiece 

was taken, developed, and printed by Master Howison without 

assistance. It is copied from an engraving, a folio proof 

before letters, of the Chandos portrait. 

SAB 



The other night I went to see Hamlet at 
the Girard avenue theater. I think it was Oct 
22 1893 

The first scene was where two men were 
on guard and they heard some one coming and 
said stand and unfold your self it was Marcel- 
lows you come most careful on your hour said 
the guards. They were not there long before 
Marcellows said look look what comes speak 
to it one of the guard said speak speak I pray 
you speak I charge you speak no it will not 
speak said Marcellows it is offended so the 
ghost went away. It was the finest ghost I 
ever saw. Then Marcellows and the guards 
went right to Hamlet's house and told him all 
about what they had seen the night before. 
Hamlet said I will be there betwix eleven and 
twelve so the next night Hamlet was there 
when the clock struct twelve and then the 
ghost came in Hamlet said to it speak speak 
and the ghost turned around and made motions 
for Hamlet to come with it. Marcellows did 
not want Hamlet to go but he would and he 
followed it till it came to a certain spot where 



It stoped and said I am thy father spirit who was 
killed by my own brother. 

Doomed to walk the earth for a certain 
time but soft me thinks I smell the scent of the 
morning air I must away. 

f Then Hamlet went back to the 

2 scene < 

\ castle and was not there long before 

Ophilia's father came in and Hamlet said to 
him have you not a daughter and the old man 
said he is harping on my daughter again. 
Ophilia came in and her father would not let her 
stay long but made her go away with him 
Hamlet was in love with her but she thought 
he did not love her but in a little while Ophilia 
came in again and Hamlet was talking to her 
when her father came and took her away. 
The next act was where Hamlet and his 
mother were in the room together and Hamlet 
told her to pray over his father and after that 
he showed her the picture of his father which 
he carried on a chain around his neck and said 
this was your husband and pointed to the 
picture on the wall and said this is your hus- 
band now and Hamlet thought the king was 
coming in the door so he drew his sword out 
and stabbed Ophilia's father instead of the king 



after that Ophilla went crazy and very soon 
after drowned herself The next act was 
church and crrave yard the old grave diger was 
diging a grave Hamlet and Marcellows came 
and asked whose grave this is the old fellow 
said it is my grave Hamlet said I mean who is 
going to be hurried there A young lady said 
the old grave diger the old fellow dug a skull 
up out of the grave and Hamlet asked him 
whose it was the old fellow looked at it for a 
while and said it was David Garrick and 
Hamlet looked at it and showed it to Mar- 
cellows and then handed it back to the grave 
diger. The old fellow sings while he digs the 
grave in a litde while the bell toles and the 
funeral comes in first six women earring the 
coffin and then her brother and the King and 
Queen and some others they open the lid of 
the coffin and look at her and close it again and 
the old grave diger lets the coffin down the 
hole the Queen throws a few flowers down in 
the grave Hamlet and Marcellows are hiding 
behind a tree and they see it all. 

I forgot to put in where Hamlet stabbes 
Ophilia's father behind the bed curtains he 
thought it was the king. In a very litde while 
the white light's go out and they show blue 



light on the stage to represent night this made 
me nervious. While Hamlet and his mother 
are in the room the ghost comes in and Hamlet 
asks his mother wheather she sees it and she 
thinks he has gone crazy. I thought it was the 
best play I ever saw the ghost was a dandy and 
Creston Clarke played his part so very well 
and the scenery was very pretty. 

And another thing I forgot to say that 
Ophilia comes in the room where the king and 
Queen is with her hair hanging drown her back 
and with some flowers in her hand and she gets 
aown on the floor and spreads flowers all 
around in a circle and after that gets up and 
goes out. 

Near the first act Hamlet and some others 
get up a play to scare the King. They play 
that a man was lying down a sleep in his garden 
and some one comes and pours some poisen 
liquid in his ear that kills him They do this to 
remind the King how he killed Hamlet's father 
and so he gets scared and runs out and every 
body wonders what is the matter with him 
The last act was a scene in the palace the King 
and Queen was sitting on the throne and a 
good many others are around the King had 
fixed it up with Ophilia's brother to be there to 



fight a duel with Hamlet so he took two cups 
and put some good wine in one cup and some 
poisen in the other cup so the time came for 
Hamlet and Ophilia's brother to fight the duel 
and so they began. Hamlet got the best of 
him the first time and the King said I drink to 
Hamlet but he did not mean it so they com- 
mense again and Hamlet wounded him and so 
the King handed Hamlet the poisen cup to 
Hamlet but he would not take it and the Queen 
says I will drink to Hamlet and so she takes it 
and says Hamlet I am poisned, and Hamlet runs 
right up to the King and stabbed him And so 
the play of Hamlet ended. 1 think it was the 
best play that Shaksphere or any body else 
ever wrote. The dresses were very pretty but 
looked queer to me though I suppose that was 
the way they looked in Shakspere time. I 
think Shakspere must have been a very great 
man and writer to have thought out such a 
great play. 

I think it is just right I don't think any 
body could improve this play. 

I hear that he has written a great many 
more good plays but I don't think any of them 
could be a fine as HAMLET I hope I will see 
some more of his plays sometime soon. 



I expect I have not remembered all but 
this is as near as I can come to it. 

I am glad 1 am getting payed for my first 
literary work although it is only a criticism on 
another fellow. 



i LIBRPRY OF CONGRESS 



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